


We’re in this together

by pdavidp



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Friendship, talking about love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 12:24:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13053936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pdavidp/pseuds/pdavidp
Summary: Eleanor discovers that she has the capacity to love Chidi.





	We’re in this together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [natacup82](https://archiveofourown.org/users/natacup82/gifts).



Eleanor knew she could love, unapologetically and completely. She had the evidence but didn’t know how it was possible. The dilemma was consuming her. She spent the afternoon wandering around the neighborhood trying to sort out her feelings. Now she sad listless in her house, facing away from her creepy wall of clowns, gazing out the window.

Tahani, noticing that Eleanor just wasn’t herself, set her mind to helping out her dear friend. “Well, hello Eleanor,” Tahani said carrying a platter into Eleanor’s house. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been a bit gloomy lately so I brought you my favorite pick-me-up.” She walked over to Eleanor’s dinning room table and gently lowered the platter carefully.

“Tahani must want something,” Eleanor thought to herself. The cheese and crackers were in perfect order and the flowers decorating the plater were beautiful but not overstated.

“Janet,” Tahani said.

Janet appeared abruptly. “Yes.”

“Could we have something to drink? Maybe some….” Tahani gestured to Eleanor to choose.

“Jose Cuervo Strawberry Lime Margarita mix and the cheapest tequila you can find.” Before Tahani could open her mouth to object, Janet was wearing an apron and mixing up margaritas in a giant blender. Next to Janet sat a box with a spout that simply read “Tequala” in comic sans font.

Tahani put her hand to her lips in a silent, shocked protest. “Perhaps...” Tahani started but it was too late.

“Fork ya!” interrupted Eleanor. “That’s what I’m talking about. Thanks Janet. You’re the best.” Eleanor gleamed as Janet gave her and Tahani glasses full of frozen strawberry margarita. Eleanor’s glass had a green stem in the shape of a cactus. Tahani gracefully received a glass in the shape of a palm tree.

“I can not confirm that I am, in fact, the best Janet, because I’ve never met another Janet. However, based upon your reaction, I believe that I might be the best.” She smiled and disappeared as abruptly as she arrived leaving behind several pitchers of neon red frozen margarita.

Eleanor clinked glasses with Tahani and took a big gulp while Tahani gingerly sipped the drink through a forced smile.

 

“…and so you see Eleanor, I chose my boyfriends from among the most elig-table bachelors who donated to my foundations. This way I could be sure we have calm-bin interests… HIC” Tahani--momentarily shocked by her own hiccup--continued, “...and they could afford to move in the same circles as me.”

Tahani picked up an empty pitcher and looked at it with a quizzical expression. Eleanor grabbed a full pitcher and filled up Tahani’s palm tree glass.

“But Tahani, the question I as’dyou was, ‘hab you ever been in love?’”

“Of course, dear, lovely, Elean-dor. The man I loved the...” Tahani paused and continued, “Robert. Such a sweet guy. Even though he wasn’t my normal heir-to-a-small-Europian-kingdom-type, we really clicked.”

“Wha happened?”

“He was very poopular at the time. He had a little project in Oregon and when he came back,” Tahani paused trying to collect herself. It didn’t help, “He told me that he was breaking up with me. He… in love with Kristen.” After producing a lace handkerchief from within her sleeve like a magician, Tahani broke into tears.

Eleanor opened her mouth to say something, but just padded Tahani awkwardly on the shoulder.

“We were really, deeply in love,” Tahani said dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief.

“And how do you know you’re really in love? Not just, ‘let’s dance the hoedown to bone town.’ I’m talking about really in love.”

Tahani looked deflated, “Guess I don’t know, do I? Excuse me for a moment.” Tahani left to find a mirror to fix her makeup.

Eleanor returned to looking out the window reflecting that she knew nothing about love. Remembering the first time she came across her father expressing his love for her mother was confusing and sad.

“Mom. I ha…”

“Eleanor. Listen. I need more wine,” Eleanor’s mother interrupted. “Do be a good girl and get mommy something. There’s a bottle hidden behind the couch so your deadbeat father won’t steal it.”

Eleanor begrudgingly wandered into the living room and pulled the couch away from the wall to reveal a host of dust bunnies but no bottle of wine. Annoyed, she pulled the couch out further and looked around, desperate to avoid an hour long rant from her mother about how much of a failure she is as a daughter. Moving the couch further out caused the balls of dust to swirl revealing a folded piece of paper. Brushing it off, she opened it.

“Dear Bitch,

I found your wine and gave it to Paul to keep it out of your drunk-ass, useless, fingers.

Love,

Doug”

Tahani returned to Eleanor repeating, “Love Doug… Love Doug… Love...” quietly to herself.

“Eleanor?” she said as Tahani approached.

“Oh, hi!” Eleanor snapped out of her day dream. “Tahani, love is not about just banging the hottest guy at the bar.”

“No, my dear Eleanor. I suppose its not.”

“It’s also not about stealing my ex-boy friend’s new girlfriend from him because he was such a jerk about that time I totaled his car--which, by the way, was totally my fault.” Eleanor burped loudly.

Tahani blinked and placed her hand on her chin contemplating Eleanor’s revelation. “I believe I do agree with you there Eleanor.”

“My parents didn’t love each other, Tahani, but I thought they did. I thought that love was a game with winner and losers and the losers got heartache. In all the relationships I’ve ever had, it was all about protecting myself and making sure I always won that game. I would win those games by building walls. I wasn’t the one getting hurt. Let me tell you Tahani, those walls had no cracks. Eventually,” she said with feeling, “I built myself a jail.”

“Oh my sweet Elean-dor.”

Eleanor stopped, gripping Tahani by the sleeve, wide-eyed. “HOLY FORKING SHIRT BALLS! Tahani. That’s it! I can’t love Chidi if I’m not willing to be hurt. Win or lose, we’re in this together.”


End file.
